


Monster

by mothra_dreams



Category: Log Horizon
Genre: Doing my duty to add to an underrated ship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, also known as Krusty/Lenessia, post-s2, seriously I will write more of this hopefully, very light background S/A
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25283059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothra_dreams/pseuds/mothra_dreams
Summary: A week after Shiroe first makes contact with the China server, a ship is sent out to return Akihabara’s finest battle-guild leader to his home. His absence has been felt by more than just his guildmates. It is when this ship returns that Lenessia finds herself confronted with her bridge between worlds once more.
Relationships: Crusty (Log Horizon)/Rayneshia El-Arte Corwen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Monster

**Author's Note:**

> This was a lot of fun to write. I haven't read LN 12 but minor spoilers about what happens to D.D.D. with Crusty's extended absence, discovered courtesy of the wiki.

Lenessia didn’t worry about many things. After all, more often than not she was expected to simply _be_ rather than to do. It was her duty as a princess, and until recently, one which she had been resigned to. Yet today she couldn’t help the restlessness in her, the constant awareness of the importance of the day. Today, _he_ arrived. The monster who had broken her out of her resignation more than a year ago. It had been months since she’d seen him. Though she had been keenly aware of his absence, it had taken until the raid on Shibuya for Rieze to admit to the Round Table (and by extension, her) that he had been trapped across the sea; kidnapped by a cursed item while trying to save his subordinate. How like him, to risk his life without a moment’s hesitation. She’d seen that same fire when he cut his way through the goblin hordes; leading the troops that she had rallied.

_How cold it had been without that fire close by._

It hadn’t taken long for Shiroe to organise a rescue ship for his Round Table peer once he had heard of Crusty’s predicament. Within the day, plans were drawn up to use the newly completed steamship _Indomitable_ to travel to the land-across-the-sea. The contingent included the most competent sailors in Akihabara, with Takayama leading the way. Within the week, the ship had launched, taking with it the hopes and dreams of the thousand-plus members of D.D.D.— or as it was now known, the D3-Hub. Somehow it seemed that Lenessia’s dreams had snuck aboard too, hiding away in the belly of the great ship.

Then came the wait. Long months of sporadic communication. It barely felt real to Lenessia. She did her best to engross herself in life in the city; building on the fledgling friendships which she’d so unexpectedly found here. Listening to Akatsuki’s half-formed complaints about the girl in Log Horizon with whom she seemed to compete for her Guildmaster’s affections. About a woman from Shiroe’s past who Crusty found himself in the company of in his travels through the land-across-the-sea. Lenessia had quietly laughed when she first heard her friend’s complaints. While the villain-in-glasses was certainly ruthless, anyone with the tiniest instinct for people could see just how much he cared for his assassin-comrade. Now that Log Horizon had added Tetra to their numbers, Lenessia was sure the relationship between Akatsuki and Shiroe would blossom. By force if necessary.

Then, before Lenessia really knew it, the news came that the _Indomitable_ was due to arrive in Akihabara. The arrival itself was filled with fanfare and excitement. All the Guildmasters of the Round Table were present to welcome their comrade. Even William Massachusetts had made his way down from Suskino, though he veiled the trip under the guise of further work with the Round Table. Near half the city of Akihabara had lined up on the shores of the river alongside the Guildmasters. Lenessia herself was surprised by the crowd; dreading the need to jostle for position given her lack of entourage. Her worries proved unfounded, as a lightning-fast purple streak cleared the way through the packed crowd once she’d gotten to the edge of it, bringing a smile to the princess’ face. How lucky she was to call Akatuski her friend. The energy in the people around her was positively electric, and she felt herself becoming caught up in the chatter of the crowd. The restlessness of the morning had spread through to the very tips of her fingers; she fidgeted and grabbed at the hem of her sky-blue dress as she waited for the first sign of the monster she had missed so.

Suddenly, a shout arose from the edge of the pier, and Lenessia turned with the crowd to see the bow of the _Indomitable_ rise into clear view. There he was, standing at its head. Crusty, his cloak flowing free in the wind, resting his wickedly large axe on his shoulder. Implacable, as if he’d never be dragged away in the first place. A roar built from the crowd, and Lenessia couldn’t help the hammering of her heart as she raised her hand with the people around her to welcome the missing Guildmaster back to the city.

There had been much to do after the initial fanfare of Crusty and his party’s arrival. Greetings from old friends, including the mythologised Kanami. Lenessia swore she could feel actual steam coming off Akatuski when the energetic woman enveloped Shiroe in an excited hug. As for Crusty, he had been whisked off after the briefest greetings to begin managing the newly restructured guild. There must have been a thousand things requiring his immediate attention. Still, Lenessia managed to catch him on the edge of the crowd, flanked by his second-in-commands.

“It’s good to see you, princess,” the berserker said, his voice warm.

Feeling the urgency emanating from Crusty’s guildmates, Lenessia pushed down all the things she had been burning to say. Instead, she welcomed him as was proper.

“Welcome back to the city. I have a reception organised tonight for you and your party. I hope I’ll see you there.” Though her voice never faltered, Lenessia couldn’t help the touch of pink which rose to her cheeks under his piecing stare.

Then, a smile.

“I would be honoured to.”

With that, Lenessia stood aside as he continued his trip back to the guildhall; to reclaim order over the guild he had worked so hard to created.

By now the princess’ mansion had catered for many an event, from the ill-fated attempt at placating the ambassador from the Western states to the planning of the raid on the mad royal guardsman. The staff worked as a well-oiled machine, leaving little for Lenessia to do other than prepare herself for the inevitable formalities required of the evening. Though the feelings from before still roiled within her, there was a kind of meditation in dressing for events which required propriety. Not that this was to be anything as formal as the Eastal conference. Many adventurers preferred to keep their armour on when at these sorts of gatherings. She had no doubt Crusty would be far too busy to change.

And thus, when the hour came and the gates opened to the high-ranking guild members and newly arrived adventurers, Lenessia felt the edge fall off her restlessness. Here she knew what she was doing. How she was meant to act. Yet it took only the first appearance of Crusty to once more bring the twisting, turning feeling in her stomach to the forefront. How he could manage to show up without a hair out of place after the whirlwind of a day he must have had was a mystery to the princess.

Still, it had been easy to slip into the verbal game she played when she and Crusty interacted in public. He was infuriatingly comfortable with it, giving nothing away in his easy smiles as he regaled the group crowding around him at the reception of his adventures in the west. Shocked gasps and awed glances rose as the people of the land and adventurers alike hung on every word. Lenessia found herself growing more and more frustrated as he met her comments with no more than the formal courtesy required of him as Guildmaster. Of course it was the right thing to do; she knew it just as well as he did. But just quietly, she had hoped that something might change, that the Crusty who had broken so many conventions back at the Round Table negotiations would present himself here.

Despite her wishes though, the night continued much the same. As the dances and speeches drew to a close, a somewhat inebriated Naotsugu stumbled over to the loosely scattered group and suggested that they go explore the balmy night air in Akihabara city; no doubt spurred on by Marielle and Tetra. Even the usually serious Rieze beamed at her returned Guildmaster, awaiting the go-ahead for an evening adventure. The monster simply nodded, polite as always. Lenessia clenched her fists, feeling the fingernails dig into the palm of her hands.

“Are you coming, princess?” Crusty asked.

Lenessia felt the eyes of the group on her. She knew she should go out with them; it was lovely exploring the city at night. But the frustration and sadness and longing were barely masked by her years spent in proper etiquette. Lenessia wasn’t sure she could hold back the storm of being around Crusty without the strictures of formality to fall back on. 

“I’m sorry— I have some things to attend to here. I hope it’s the welcome back that you wanted, Crusty.” She mustered the brightest smile she could, silently thanking the fact that Akatuski was too busy staring daggers at Shiroe’s old party leader to see the lie clear on Lenessia’s face.

“Suit yourself, princess. Thanks for an awesome party!” Naotsugu gave one of his signature thumbs-ups, leading the group away from the princess. Though her gaze had fallen as they left, she could swear the weight of Crusty’s gaze settled on her well after the sound of their footsteps had receded.

Maybe it had been childish to turn down the offer from the Log Horizon member. Still, she couldn’t think of a better way to manage the ugly feeling bubbling inside her. It was all too much. So, she’d fled to her room: trying desperately to avoid having to think about why her heart ached at the thought of Crusty’s training leader leaning in close to report the latest developments in the D3-hub. Lenessia knew that Elissia had been concerned by the princess’ morose walk to her bedroom, but experience lent reason to leave Lenessia to her sorrows.

Lenessia slumped over her vanity, head resting listlessly on her gloved forearms as thoughts and feelings clashed despite her attempt to escape them. Rieze was her _friend_ , for god’s sake. How pathetic, to feel this way. And no matter how she tried, she couldn’t push away the intrusion of Crusty’s expression when he’d first seen her. How his eyes had lit up, if just for a moment, before the usual polite smile slid back into place, as solid as any of the berserker armour plates. Somewhere in the back of her mind she vaguely registered murmuring from the other side of her bedroom door. Elissia, no doubt keeping the rest of the house staff away from the princess’ room. Whispering about how she was in one of _those_ moods.

The click of the door opening caught the princess off-guard; she barely had time to rise from her slump before the familiar sounds of well-oiled armoured plates clinking against each other betrayed who had entered her room. The tempest within her raged as she spun, already forming the words of accusation, of betrayal at how he _dare_ risk his life for something so foolish and dangerous and—

 _There he was_. So close she could feel the very air between them spark as his presence filled every part of her vision. His expression was inscrutable. Her heart hammered in her chest and she tried once more to bring order to her thoughts. Then, a softening, a tiny rise at the corner his mouth. As if freed from a spell, he suddenly leaned down to her; face growing ever closer as the princess tried desperately to keep her decorum intact, her years of being raised in proper etiquette, to push back the desire to meet the sharp angles of his face with her own.

All such thoughts feel away into the void though as she felt his lips meet hers; strong, full of life and experience. The heat in her face was nothing compared to that in her chest and she felt herself let out a muffled squeak as she leaned into the kiss. It was new and clumsy and utterly inappropriate, but her worries hardly registered against the feeling of their lips together. Her hands unconsciously met Crusty’s armour; something _very_ improper deep in her mind disappointed that she couldn’t feel his skin instead. Lenessia couldn’t say how long they remained locked together, but that same part of her deep down inside cried out when the guildmaster pulled away from her. Though his cool smile remained, Lenessia spotted the tinge of pink around his cheeks and the heaviness of his breath as he pushed his glasses back into place. She was sure that her own face was on fire from the heat she felt there.

“Good evening, princess.” His voice was soft. Meant just for the two of them.

All hope of saying what she’d been thinking before were irrevocably shattered by the moment they had just shared.

“Crusty…” Lenessia took a shaky breath, her heart still racing.

“I’m sorry for being so forward,” Crusty said, placing his gauntleted hand over the princess’ own.

“Being ripped out of the world here on Yamato made me reconsider what was really important. Now that I have another chance here, I’m not going to miss it.” He paused for a moment, and when Lenessia failed to reply continued anew. “I hope I didn’t overstep my boundaries. I imagine you’re thinking I did.”

As always, the monster new exactly what she was thinking. There were dozens of reasons why this was inadvisable. Impossible, even. And yet, here he was, radiating that same surety and calm which had kept her from being swept away in the terrible newness of Akihabara back when she had first arrived. Which had supported her as she made her speech imploring the adventurers to fight the goblins. Which had kept the hordes from ever coming near her precious home.

It was all so _much_ and with a tiny sniff, something inside her finally broke. Tears poured down her face as the sheer weight of everything she’d kept inside swept her away. She felt a shift in the man next to her, and as her body wracked with silent sobs his arms wrapped around her, supporting her as if it were no effort in the slightest. The tears fell; Lenessia could cry safe for the first time in as long as she could remember.

Eventually, the tears slowed and the princess’ breathing settled. Crusty hadn’t said a word, but his embrace was steady as the foundations of the city itself. Lenessia took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I didn’t know…”

“Neither did I. Not really,” Crusty said. Then, a smile; genuine this time. “But now I do.”

Lenessia met his openness with a tiny smile of her own, cheeks still glistening from before.

“What are we going to do? The Eastal nobles would never approve. Neither would my grandfather,” her shoulders sagged as the weight of the role pressed down on her once more.

“Things have changed since the apocalypse— some of them forever. What’s one more change after all the others?”

Lenessia tried to suppress a gasp as he once more leaned in.

“Besides, we can consider the practicalities of it tomorrow. The world can wait, Lenessia. At least for tonight.” His voice was low and his breath hot on her face. Goosebumps ran across her skin as her cheeks flushed in anticipation.

It was impossible. Of course it was. But just for tonight, impossible was no more than an errant thought as she once more threw herself in to this improper and utterly perfect monster, who had returned to again shatter everything the princess knew to be possible.


End file.
